Indians ask players to reject Redkins

After getting the support of 50 senators last week, the groups behind the push to change the Washington Redskins name are now appealing to new faces: every player in the National Football League.

The Oneida Indian Nation and the National Congress of American Indians, which are leading the Change the Mascot campaign, are sending a letter Wednesday asking the players to take a stance against the Redskins name. In addition to sending the letter to the teams, it will be tweeted directly to players with the hashtag: #rightsideofhistory.

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“We ask that you add your powerful voice to the hundreds who are already speaking out. Because you are in the NFL, you command a level of respect and credibility when speaking out about the league’s behavior,” the letter read, adding that players’ support “is critical to ending this injustice.”

In the letter, the groups point to Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, who told TIME in an interview published earlier this month, that he doesn’t think the NFL “really is as concerned as they show” and the fact there is a team called the Redskins “says a whole lot.”

“The NFL is more of a bottom line league. If it doesn’t affect their bottom line, they’re not as concerned,” Sherman said when asked at the time if the NFL would act the same way as the NBA did in banning Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling for racist remarks.

The letter, signed by 77 organizations, including the NAACP, follows news last week of another letter signed by 50 senators urging the NFL to support changing the Redskins name.